Psychological and other Effects of Cocaine Abuse

June 6, 2015

Psychological and other Effects of Cocaine Abuse: Solutions for cocaine addiction

Psychological and other Effects of Cocaine Abuse including illegality of its administration is killing the moral, social and economic fabric of our societies

The body is very much vulnerable to the use of all these addictive drugs. Like for instance, using cocaine does not only harm the body, but also the mind. These drugs impacts negatively to human health and often cause mental, emotional and psychological damage that can be very difficult to overcome. According to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, the parts of the brain that cocaine directly affects are the areas that reward us, such as the areas associated with good behavior, sex, food or other healthy activities. This is why using cocaine feels so good to most people, and why it is a highly addictive drug that causes intense cravings, tolerance, dependence and ultimately addiction. That is why it is not going to be business as usual until we deal with the psychological and other effects of cocaine abuse expeditiously. Doctor Akoury says that getting into drugs is not very difficult but once in, getting out or quitting becomes very difficult. From experience doctor Akoury recommends that addicts making effort of quitting should do so with the help of an addiction medical professional instruction, and not on their own. This is so because when quitting, it comes with certain complications. The process of withdrawal can be very demanding psychologically and this may cause many people to abandon their efforts of stopping the usage of the drug altogether.

Getting someone into treatment for cocaine addiction can be a life-saving decision. In cocaine rehab, the addict can recognize their addiction for what it is: a chronic disease that requires professional treatment. The goodness of cocaine rehabs centers is that they are most effective in their undertakings especially in their residential setting. While the physical withdrawal symptoms of cocaine addiction are not life threatening and typically pass in a week or less, it is important to note that the psychological drug cravings are intense and may lead many people to relapse. Nonetheless in cocaine rehab, addicts typically have access to the following services, among others:

Medical monitoring and medication, as needed
Individual, group and family therapy
Twelve-Step meetings such as Cocaine Anonymous
Sober recreational activities
Education about cocaine addiction
Relapse prevention planning

Psychological and other Effects of Cocaine Abuse: Pharmacological treatment

While there is no medication to treat cocaine addiction directly, during the detoxification process in treatment, antidepressants are typically used to help manage the symptoms of withdrawal that usually come in the early periods of abstinence from cocaine. Therefore doctor Akoury recommends that when searching for a treatment program for yourself or a loved one, it is important that you go for the treatment programs which will address the physical, emotional, and social effects of drug use on the patient and their families. Remember that getting clean requires more than a stay in cocaine rehab it requires an ongoing commitment to protecting one’s sobriety. Along with the skills learned in treatment, finding interests outside of abusing cocaine and a supportive peer group can help addicts stay on the road to lifelong recovery.

Psychological and other Effects of Cocaine Abuse: Medication for Cocaine Addiction

While there are currently not any mainstream drugs designed specifically to treat people who are addicted to cocaine, research is routinely being performed in an effort to create medications that will help people with this problem. There are some experimental drugs that are being used to treat cocaine addiction, but these come with a certain amount of risk. The majority of them are classified as schedule 4 drugs, which means that they carry a significant risk of addiction. Common medications that are used to treat cocaine addiction include:

Baclofen – a muscle relaxant that curbs cocaine cravings and has been shown to reduce the use of the drug in abusers

Disulfiram – an anti-alcoholic agent that makes using cocaine (or alcohol) very unpleasant

Gabapentin – an anticonvulsant that makes cocaine cravings easier to deal with; it also helps to lessen the severity of relapses

Modafinil – effective in reducing cravings for cocaine, as well as reducing the cocaine high

NAC (or N-Acetylcysteine) – an animo acid that has proven to be effective in reducing the cravings for cocaine; it has also shown promising results in repairing some of the damage done to the brain in animal studies

Since there is no single medication that is designed to specifically and safely treat cocaine users, behavioral treatments are often the favored option. Often, a combination of medication and behavioral therapy is used to treat patients. Fortunately, there are a number of options available for addicted individuals, including outpatient and residential addiction treatment programs.

Psychological and other Effects of Cocaine Abuse: Addiction is a Family Disease

When a person becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol, they become the focus of attention of everyone around them. Parents want to protect their child from harm, sister or brother wants to show the addict the error of their ways, and friends and relatives go to great lengths to convince the addict that they need drug rehab treatment. With all the attention focused squarely on the addict’s needs and issues, what happens to the family? What about their needs? How can they help their loved one while also protecting themselves?

Addicts aren’t the only ones who experience the pain of addiction. It’s all of us the siblings, parents, family, and friends we all feel it. In fact families face a number of obstacles in dealing with a loved one’s addiction. Despite having the best of intentions, it is easy for family members to blame themselves, stay silent and try to fix the problem, get angry or give up. Once people adjust to living in dysfunction, it can be difficult to re-connect in a healthy way.

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, 10% of the population is addicted, one in four children under the age of 18 live with an addicted parent, and for every addict four others are directly affected. Clearly, there are a lot of people out there dealing with addiction and in desperate need of support and help. But families can learn from each other. And that’s why Dr. Akoury made a decision to create a medical center whose main objective is to transform each individual’s life through increasing awareness about health and wellness and by empowering individuals to find their own inner healing power. Dr. Akoury’s practice focuses on personalized medicine through healthy lifestyle choices that deal with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of patching up symptoms. It is therefore very important that when under such difficult situations, you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for the commencement of treatment professionally.

Psychological and other Effects of Cocaine Abuse: Solutions for cocaine addiction

GABA Metabolism in the CNS in Addiction

February 14, 2015

GABA Metabolism in the CNS in Addiction

What is GABA?

Known as Gamma-Amino Butyric acid, it is an amino acid that performs functions of neurotransmitters in the brain.it is the most abundant neurotransmitters occurring in the central nervous system (CNS).it acts as an inhibitor of transmissions in the brain thus in the process calming down activities in the nervous system. It is found as a supplement in which it acts as a natural tranquilizer. It has been shown to increase levels of human growth hormones thus is very popular among body builders.

The Neurotransmitters Question

The brain is made up of millions of cells. Communication takes place from one brain region to another through neurotransmitters. Neurons are individual cells of the nerves that make up the nervous system. They serve as the wiring for the body to transmit information form one region to another. The electrical signals generated are transported through the neurons as a single impulse. Ones the impulses reaches the end of the neurons, it is transmitted to the other cell through neurotransmitters.

The central nervous system consists of the spinal cord and the brain. The two consist of neurotransmitters which pass from one end of the neuron to another. The peripheral nervous system which is made up of nerves that run to the rest of the body. The nerves transmit chemical signals from one neuron t adjacent gland cells and muscles.

GABA and glutamate are the most abundantly occurring neurotransmitters in the nervous system. The two are in abundance in the cerebral cortex which is the region where interpretation of sensation takes place and thinking occurs. The ending of the neurons are made up of sac like structures which are filled with neurotransmitters.

GABA

When the chemical and electrical signals reach the end of the neurons, they trigger the sacs to release neurotransmitters to act as a bridge between one nerve cell and another. The spaces called synapses act as a bridge through which signals pass to the other cells. On reaching the other neuron, the neurotransmitters attach to the cell receptors. This triggers the electric impulse to move from the end of the nerve cell neuron to the other cell completing the message transmission and triggering and effect.

Role of GABA In the Brain

It is formed in the cells of the brain from glutamate. GABA acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter which simply means that it blocks nerve impulses in the brain. On the other hand, glutamate from which GABA is formed is an excitatory neurotransmitter. When it binds to cells adjacent to it, it activates them to send impulses throughout the brain from one cell to another. GABA instead of telling the brain to activate and send impulses, it tells it he opposite. It stimulates the brain not to send nerve impulses from one cell to another.

In the absence of GABA nerve cells tend to activate more often sending signals regularly. Disorders associated with anxiety such as headaches, addiction, panic attacks, Parkinson syndrome, cognitive impairment and seizures are all linked to low activity of GABA.

It naturally hinders nerve impulses transmission from one cell to another. It brings about a calming effect in the process. The best way to understand the significance of GABA is by understanding the effects of caffeine on the brain. Caffeine acts as an inhibitor of the release of GABA. When the levels of GABA are low in the brain, more nerve transmissions take place. This leads to the sensational feeling that one gets when they takes coffee. This feeling is as a result of activity of glutamate with less GABA.

The reason why, caffeine does this is simply because other molecules tend to bind with the neurons near the site where GABA binds with these neurons. This is exactly the way that basic tranquilizers like barbiturates and Benzodiazepines work. They increase the effects of GABA in the body which in turns inhibits the transmission of nerves.

GABA Metabolism

It is synthesized in a metabolic path known as the GABA shunt. The first step in GABA formation uses a-ketoglutarate that is formed from metabolism of glucose in the Kreb’s cycle. Afterwards a-ketoglutarate is processed by a-oxoglutarate to form glutamate. In the final process, the glutamate undergoes decarboxylation to form GABA through the glutamic acid decarboxylase enzyme. Like other neurotransmitters, GABA is stored in the synaptic vesicles of the brain and is only released when depolarization of the presynaptic membrane takes place.

GABA

GABA and Addiction

Alcohol consumption leads to loss of coordination of the motors as well as sedation as other high levels of inhibitory transmitters do. Studies therefore show that GABA effects contribute to some effects of alcohol in the brain. Past studies show that, GABA as an inhibitory neurotransmitter is affected by alcohol consumption. Continuous alcohol consumption leading to addiction lead to decline in GABA receptors found in the brain and his reduces the ability of the neurotransmitter t bind with cell receptors.

In this case, the body is forced to find ways to compensate for the declined levels of GABA neurotransmitters. These effects are responsible for brain function changes that lead to things like dependence and alcohol tolerance. When one withdraws from alcohol, the stimulating effects on the neurotransmitter disappear. The body has very few GABA receptors needed to balance the effects of excitatory neurotransmitters. Because of this the brain has too many excitatory nerve signals being transmitted. This translates to psychological and physical effects of alcohol addiction and withdrawal.

Dr. Dalal Akoury has years of experience with patients of addiction and other health conditions. This enables her to provide wise counsel to patients who may be going through certain health conditions. Many of these patients have gotten better and they now bear witness to her god works. To become part of this community and to receive regular health and awareness tips that will befit you, visit www.awaremednetwork.com today.

GABA Metabolism in the CNS in Addiction

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